As we’ve well and truly settled into the off season, it’s time to dust off one of our more popular features, our Past Player Profile series, and who better to start things off with than the Jedi Master himself, Jed H. Cox.
One of only a handful of WCC players in the modern era to have actually been raised in Wistow, Jed made his WCC debut at a young age in our junior teams, before making his seniors debut in 2005, whilst aged only 13.
In the early stages of his career “Jedi” was an exciting pace bowler and just two (2) years later, whilst still in U16’s, Jed would play a starring role in a C Grade fixture against Macclesfield, firstly with the bat where he would score 20* from 28 balls at No. 11 (the only time he would reach double figures in his first four (4) seasons of senior cricket) in an unbeaten 10th wicket stand of 43 to see the Echidnas post 9/153. The Redbacks were cruising in reply until Jedi tore through their lower order, taking 5/35, his last over making interesting reading as he went – . W 6 4 W – to see Maccy bowled out just two (2) runs short of the Echidnas’ total.
Jed would make his A Grade debut the following season at age 16, whilst playing between A’s & B’s – where he showed great potential as an economical bowler in two day cricket, including figures of 3/16 from 11 overs & 1/15 from 12. He would return to the A’s as 12th man in the 2007/08 Premiership victory over Hahndorf, receiving a Premiership Medallion which he proudly wore to school the following day so his Deputy Principal (long-time Hahndorf A Grader), Andrew Baker, remembered the result.
Bouncing back & forth between A’s & A2/B’s over the following few seasons, Jed’s batting started to emerge in A2’s in 2011/12 when he was thrown up the order as a sacrificial opener and impressed with a 44 in his 2nd innings of the season.
He would play a major role in our B Grade Premiership the following season, scoring 293 runs @ 19.53 as an opener, including the only two (2) half centuries of his career, 59 & 62 scored in a span of three (3) weeks, whilst also taking 26 wickets @ 15.42 & 11 catches. Saving his best for last, Jedi took 4/34 in the Grand Final against Ashbourne before top scoring with 35 (albeit whilst barbequing two team mates, including star batter Elliot Pryor who scored a lazy 529 runs @ 75.57 in B’s that season). On a slight tangent, a free drink up at the Hill is on offer for the first person to correctly comment below as to which Echidna hit the winning runs in that GF.
Thereafter, Jed would return to A Grade, this time as an opening batter who rarely bowled, but found the going pretty tough. A major highlight was a game against Nairne when he managed to dispatch former Australian Test cricketer, Shaun Tait, for a boundary, whilst he would score his A Grade best of 43 in a two day match at the Hill, in which Wistow scored 9/347 but still lost by 32 runs.
Initially hanging up the whites in 2018, Jed returned after COVID in 2020/21 for a final stint, recapturing his bowling form in C’s to take 11 wickets @ 12.73 with an economy of 2.7 before retiring (perhaps) for good this time.
Jedi played 171 senior matches (placing him inside the Top 25 in WCC history), his 147 wickets & 79 catches also seeing him inside the Top 25 in both categories. Whilst his career averages were somewhat hampered by his time in A’s, he was an excellent B Grade bowler, where he took 80 wickets @ 17.8.
Well done Jed!
